On September 10th, Manitobans re-elected Premier Pallister and his conservative government to a second majority term.
The NDP will form the Official Opposition, gaining six more seats in the Legislature.
In a bit of a surprise, the Premier called the election more than a year before Manitoba’s fixed election date.
Unfortunately, summer elections can bring challenges with voter interest and engagement. Voter turn out in fact declined this election. Elections Manitoba reported voter turnout at 55.4 percent, down from 57 percent in 2016.
The Greens failed to win their first seat in Manitoba and Liberals also lost official party status falling short of the number of seats required.
The Progressive Conservatives campaigned on tackling the provincial deficit and committed $2-billion in health care funding to address emergency wait times, hire more front line service providers, improve mental health and addictions services as well as improve access to priority procedures, such as hip and knee and cataract surgeries.
During this election, Federal Retirees shared our key issues and prepared a list of questions members could raise with their local candidates. We focused on:
- Active aging
- Encouraging Aging-Friendly Communities and tackling social isolation
- Prioritizing health and healthcare
Provincially and nationally Federal Retirees will continue to advocate for our members and hold governments to account on their commitments to retirement income security and health care improvements.